Vitamin D deficiency rickets in infants presenting with hypocalcaemic convulsions.

OBJECTIVE

Hypocalcaemia evaluation of the clinical, biochemical and radiologicalfeatures of 91 infants with rickets who presented as hypocalcaemic convulsions.

METHODS

Ninety-one hypocalcaemic infants who were brought to hospital with convulsion and diag-nosed with rickets related to vitamin D deficiency according to their clinical, biochemical and radio-logicalfeatures were retrospectively reviewed.

RESULTS

Mean values of the laboratory data were as follows: calcium 5.55 +/- 0.79 mg/dL, phosphorus 4.77 +/- 1.66 mg/dL, alkaline phosphatase 1525.5 +/- 925.4 U/L and parathormone 256.8 +/- 158.3 pg/mL. Serum 25-OH vitamin D levels were below normal (< 20 ng/mL) in 37 infants.

CONCLUSIONS

Vitamin D deficiency should be considered in infants presenting with hypocalcaemia. To avoid complications such as convulsions, clinicians should give vitamin D supplementation to such infants.